OUA Invitational Day #2/ Muskoka Loppet

All bundled up for the cold

    Waking up to  - 30 degrees with what felt like -40 on Sunday morning did not stop the Warriors Nordic ski team from race preparations for a long distance classic race at the Muskoka loppet.  The frigid temperatures caused the start for the women's and men's 10 and 15km. classic race to be postponed from their original 10am start to an 11:30 start in an attempt to keep within the race cut-off temperature.  The race was a go but it meant that athletes had to prepare for what would be among one of the coldest races in their ski racing careers.  While racing attire usually consists of a race suit and maybe one base layer, hat/headband and lighter mits or gloves, people were racing in upwards of 3 layers on the bottom, 3-4 on the top and the warmest mits and toque available. For facial coverage at least one buff under the hat was absolutely necessary, though most athletes were wearing two buffs and covered any remaining exposed skin with dermatone and athletic tape to prevent the frost from getting into the skin.  Needless to say athletes were well suited up and hit the start line with a little frost beneath their feet.

     

Johanna looking strong off the start

The Warriors team was a little on the small side this a weekend what with some athletes being away on co-op and for various other reasons. Representing the women's team were captains Alison Stephenson and Katie Madden, and Johanna Mercedes Van-Shie Copol. On the men's side was second year Colin (C-man) Elliott and Orion Austrup.  Rookies Johanna and Orion were representing the Warriors for the first time as it was the first OUA event of the season. 

Orion on his way to the finish

     First in for the Warriors was Alison Stephenson in 10th place with a time of 39:01,  and just behind in the tracks was Katie Madden in 11th with a time of 39:12. Johanna Mercedes van Shie-Copol followed in 20th with a time of 44:07.  Colin Elliott led the Warriors men's team in 9th place in 49:27.  Orion Austrup, racing on home turf pulled in in 23rd place in with a time of 56:06.  The Warriors were able to defeat the epically cold weather to produce some solid race results.  Although not all of the OUA teams were present, the invitational was a good preview as to the teams shape for the upcoming OUA Championships to be held in North Bay, ON. on Feb. 20-23rd.

     The team is back in Waterloo for the school week but will be right back packing up to go to the Canadian Eastern Championships in Ottawa, ON. this coming weekend of Jan.31- 

Feb 2.

(Photo credit: Gord Kerr) 

On Target at Arrowhead - OUA Invitational Team Sprints

In a break from the winter deep freeze, the University of Waterloo Nordic Ski team raced Saturday at Arrowhead Provincial Park in Huntsville, Ontario for the OUA Invitational Team Sprints. The temperature was balmy at -9°C with light snow in the morning and sun in the afternoon. Seven of the nine Ontario universities with Nordic ski teams (Lakehead and Algoma missing) competed making the competition very strong. In particular, the women's field included two top Canadian University athletes fresh from FISU World University Games.

For anyone unfamiliar with the team sprint race format, it consists of heats of two man teams competing  with athletes alternating laps for a total of three laps each. In this case the laps were 1km long. Teams compete in semifinals where the top teams from each heat advance to the finals to declare a winner.

The University of Waterloo sent one men's and one women's team with an additional woman racing on a mixed university team with another athlete from Nipissing. The women's team consisting of Alison Stephenson and Katie Madden qualified comfortably in third place to advance to the finals. Johanna Van Schie-Copol, competing on a mixed team, successfully competed in her very first team sprint but did not advance. The men's team consisting of Colin Elliott and Orion Austrup also failed to qualify for the finals with a seventh place finish in the semifinals and finished thirteenth overall.

The women's teams were the only University of Waterloo athletes competing in the finals. Stephenson got off to a slow start in eighth place going into the first climb but gained ground on the other teams and lapped through in fourth. Madden followed with another strong lap battling with the Queens University team. The Waterloo women fought hard but fell seconds short of fourth place in a sprint to the finish.

Colin Elliott pushing hard

Katie Madden leaving the transition

First climb of the women's final

Women's Results
1. Carleton (23:20.5)
2. Nipissing (23:54.9)
3. Guelph (24:08.2)
5. Waterloo (24:55.3)

Men's Results
1. Carleton (20:56.4)
2. Guelph (21:12.1)
3. Nipissing (21:27.2)
13. Waterloo (23:28.5)

Full results can be found at http://zone4.ca/results.asp?id=6379

Wasaga Loppet - Let's go for a Long Ski

After five years at UW you eventually get used to the weather in Southern Ontario. Sometimes the icy winds chill you to the bone, other times it's shorts and t-shirt weather in January. This year the new school term was welcomed with fresh snow and cold weather. The first practice of the term had a minus 40ºC windchill. The cold quickly turned to rain by the end of the first week of class and the snow was melting fast. Most winter sport enthusiasts like the UW ski team might fear rain but we persevered and made an early morning drive Sunday, January 12 to Wasaga Beach Provincial Park for their annual ski loppet (last UW Nordic attendance was in 2010). 

I have only skied at Wasaga once before but you forget that the trails are actually very nice. There are some nice climbs along the high dunes, winding trails with the occasional sharp corner, and the potential to see wildlife on the trails (didn’t see any but there were deer tracks on the trails!). This year temperatures around zero and overcast skies welcomed the Wasaga loppet. The course was fast with icy granular snow but everyone came prepared with several klister options to pick to optimal grip wax. The men raced 2 laps of 10km for one of their longest races of the season at 20km and the women raced one 10km lap.

The men started followed 4 minutes later by the women. With a gap between categories, it limited the number of athletes fighting for the track on the narrow trails. Nonetheless, the lead group of women passed many of the slower men. Sunday, UW sent three athletes while the rest of the team recovered from illness and races earlier in January.

Alison Stephenson led the UW women with a fourth place finish. She stayed in the lead pack for the first several kilometers but struggled to keep pace through the climbs when she struggled to get good grip. On the men’s side, coach Colin Rhodes led the men through the first lap in fifth place, seconds off fourth. Unfortunately, Colin injured himself pushing hard in a chase group the end of the first lap and dropped out of the race when he came through to lap.

Men's start - Can you find the UW skiers?

Alison rounding the last corner to the finish

Senior Men (20km)

Place	Name	Team	Lap 1	Lap 2	Finish	Difference
1	Daniel Kerr	Guelph	0:31:23	0:31:56	1:03:19
2	Kai Bruce	Guelph	0:32:08	0:33:02	1:05:10	+ 01:51
3	Michael Solomon	Guelph	0:32:40	0:34:20	1:07:00	+ 03:41
4	Devin Martin		0:33:07	0:35:03	1:08:10	+ 04:51
5	Shaun Guerin	Guelph	0:33:51	0:35:19	1:09:10	+ 05:51
6	Matt Underwood	Guelph	0:33:41	0:35:43	1:09:24	+ 06:05
7	Luke Parsons	Guelph	0:34:02	0:35:57	1:09:59	+ 06:40
8	James Morton	Guelph	0:36:20	0:37:37	1:13:57	+ 10:38
9	Orion Austrup	Waterloo	0:35:38	0:38:23	1:14:01	+ 10:42
10	Zachary McLaren	Guelph	0:44:50	0:47:00	1:31:50	+ 28:31
DNF	Colin Rhodes	Waterloo – Alumni	0:33:10	***	***
DNF	Kyle Smith	Guelph	0:37:01	***	***

Senior Women (10km)

Place	Name	Team	Finish	Difference
1	Elise Huet	Guelph	0:35:43
2	Ashley Huet	Guelph	0:36:02	+00:19
3	Catherine Mallinger	Guelph	0:36:16	+ 00:33
4	Alison Stephenson	Waterloo	0:37:33	+ 01:50
5	Johanna Van Schie-Copol	Waterloo	0:42:09	+ 06:26
6	Ronena Wolach	Guelph	0:44:54	+ 09:11

After a few early season races, the UW ski team is looking forward to more races at the end of January.